


World Saving 101

by such_heights



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Year That Never Was
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-08
Updated: 2013-01-08
Packaged: 2017-11-24 04:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/630218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/such_heights/pseuds/such_heights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martha visits Sunnydale during the Year That Never Was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	World Saving 101

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shinyjenni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinyjenni/gifts).



> Significantly hand-waved timelines. A fandom_stocking present for Jenni, with love.

Martha's heard the rumours, of course, but it's not until she steps off the boat that's carried her here from Mexico and starts getting closer to her destination that she starts to suspect they're true. 

Sunnydale, a small and seemingly sleepy town in California, somehow survived the end of the world untouched. 

She's been to some places where things haven't been so bad, where a combination of a sparse population and few natural resources have left the Toclafane uninterested. There are villages scattered across some of the more remotes part of the world where life is just about tolerable. 

Sunnydale, though. Sunnydale looks, well, _nice_. The streets are empty when she arrives -- it's sunset, where the Toclafane always roam the streets looking for stragglers. There are some shelled out houses, scorch marks along the road, and signs of struggle, but there are also well-kept gardens, working street lights, and more cars than she's seen outside of a factory.

Martha has no idea what special power the people here possess, but she's looking forward to finding out. She checks her watch. Her contact should have been here by now. A woman called Rosenberg; Martha's been told to look for red hair and a jumper -- sorry, sweater -- with a rainbow on it. An optimist, then. Martha likes meeting people who still have hope. It makes her own job easier.

She hears the distinctive whirring of Toclafane on the approach, and steps back into the shadows, resting her hand over her TARDIS key on reflex. She concentrates on her breathing, making it as slow and even and calm as she can, and puts her faith in the fact that this trick has worked consistently for three months now. 

(She tries not to think about how much further she has to go.)

Three Toclafane hang in the sky, doing a standard sweep. Martha's curious now, because if the Toclafane know this place exists, why haven't they decimated it the way they did everywhere else in the world?

A possible answer arrives in the shape of a truck hurtling down the street towards her. It screeches to a stop and three people jump out. The woman that is probably Rosenberg runs towards the Toclafane, holding some kind of crystal in her hand, while her two companions back her up.

Martha desperately wants to run out and tell them not to be so stupid, they're going to get themselves killed, but she cannot be seen.

Rosenberg holds the crystal out with both hands and starts speaking what sounds like Latin. The Toclafane whirr angrily around her, but before they attack the sky grows dark, crackling with thunder. 

It's difficult to read expressions from metal spheres, but from the way they begin to huddle together, Martha guesses that the Toclafane are scared. Interesting.

Rosenberg raises her arms and bright light surrounds her. She shouts something indistinct and lightning comes crashing down from the sky, striking each Toclafane like a targeted attack. When they're down, she dusts her hands off like she's finished the washing up.

Martha is impressed. She tries to size the others up. There's another woman who is blonde, petite and feminine, but Martha's not fooled. From her stance alone, she's a fighter, and the look on her face as she stares down at the fallen Toclafane says volumes.

The woman turns, and looks straight at Martha. 

"You gonna introducing yourself, or were you just going to lurk in the shadows all day? You know we frown upon lurking in these parts, it's a very bad habit." She laughs and walks over, extending a hand. "I'm Buffy. You're Martha Jones."

It's not the first time a contact has been able to see her, but it still takes her aback slightly.

"Yes," she says after a second, accepting the handshake. "Your friend's Willow Rosenberg, right?"

"Hi!" Willow waves enthusiastically.

"And that's Giles," Buffy says, nodding at the man accompanying them. 

"Yes, hello, very nice to meet you," says Giles, and Martha's not surprised that he sounds like an Oxford don as well as looks like one.

"Welcome to Sunnydale!" Buffy says brightly. "Come on, let's get inside before any more of these things show up."

Martha climbs into the back of the truck with them. She sits quietly, listening as Buffy and Giles discuss strategy -- evidently there are a few groups out patrolling perimeters of the town tonight. Martha's got a dozen questions she's dying to ask, but it's also good to just sit and take a moment. 

\---

They go into a house that's been turned into a headquarters, full of books and maps and sleeping bags.

"Tea?" Giles asks as Martha walks inside. "I've still got a few PG Tips left."

"Oh, you're my hero," says Martha, not able to hide just what an enticing prospect that is.

Willow and Giles disappear into the kitchen, and Buffy sits down next to Martha.

"So," says Buffy. "Where do we start?"

"There are some things I need to tell you. Things that everyone needs to know about the plan, and how we're going to defeat the Master. I'm spreading the word as far as I can. But first, I really want to know -- how on earth do you keep the Toclafane out here? Everywhere else I've been, they're in charge. But not here. Why?"

Buffy laughs. "This is not our first apocalypse. Been stopping the world from ending since I was sixteen. We've got a few tricks up our sleeve - Willow and her technopagan witchery, Xander's actually pretty terrifying gift for explosives. That and Giles, the man with a book collection that the British Library drools over, and we're pretty sorted." She grimaces. "Not that this is my favourite world-ending doomsday, though. The lack of regular hot water is doing some serious damage to my skin care routine. This is your first one?"

"Well. First going solo, I guess."

Buffy nods. "That's rough. Well, far as I can tell you're doing an excellent job so far. And if I can help you out in any way, I will. Slayer's honour."

Martha frowns. "Slayer?"

"Oh, right. That whole thing. Let's wait until Giles brings your tea."

\---

That night, when Martha finally goes to sleep -- in an actual bed for the first time in weeks, what bliss -- her head is swimming with vampires and demons and magic. Every time she thinks she's got a handle on the universe, it goes ahead and proves her wrong.

\---

The next day, it's her turn to tell stories, about time and space and a magic blue box. She tells them about the Doctor's plan, about who the Master really is, and what she's going to do.

"We'll get the word out," Buffy promises. "Also, Giles, you owe me ten bucks."

Giles sighs and hands over the money.

"We made a bet on whether we'd ever see an alien," Buffy explains.

"I thought it was a little far-fetched, before all of this," Giles says wryly.

\---

Martha knows she needs to be moving on soon -- there's the whole of North America to cover -- but it's tempting to stay here, where it's safer, and there's a little bit of warmth and joy to be found.

"It's hard," Buffy says. "Being on your own, the chosen one who has to save everybody else. You might have friends and allies, but you know that in the end it's just going to come down to you up against the worst evil you can imagine, and the only thing you can rely on is yourself."

Martha frowns. She knows that Buffy's right, of course, and she's prepared for it, but it's not exactly comforting.

Then Buffy leans in. "I'll tell you a secret, though. When that moment comes, when they take away whatever else you've got and it's all down to you and you alone? It's enough. If you think you can do it, if you know that you've got the stuff to get it done, then that's how you win. They say that you're going to save the world, and I believe it. Do you?"

Martha swallows, thinks of Daleks and crashing spaceships and fob watches and the end of the universe.

"Yes."

Buffy beams, and wraps her up in a fierce hug. "That's the spirit."

Martha freezes, and it's only now she realises how long it's been since she's been touched. She hadn't realised how much she's been missing it. Slowly, she remembers what to do, and she hugs Buffy back.

For a wild moment, it really does feel like everything's going to be fine. 

\---

A week after the world didn't end, Martha's back at home. It's hard, trying to help her family make sense of things, trying not to miss the Doctor too much, but she's managing. She takes comfort in ordinary things -- her flat, her books, being able to walk through London whenever she likes.

The phone rings. The peppy American voice on the other end takes Martha by surprise.

"Hi! This is Buffy. Well done on saving the world there, great job. Nice touch with the countdown and everything. Listen, Giles and I are swinging through London in a few weeks, do you want to go out for afternoon tea or some other terribly British activity?"

"But how do you even remember-- you know what? Never mind. That sounds great."

"Awesome! See you then!"

Buffy hangs up, and Martha stares at the phone, bemused but actually really rather pleased to have made a new friend. One who fights vampires. Well, everyone has a hobby.


End file.
